


thirty one days

by ymthut



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: M/M, Neighbors, Summer, donghyuck is real pretty, pure fluff, so is mark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-05-06 02:45:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14632458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ymthut/pseuds/ymthut
Summary: Mark frowned at his steering wheel while he and Jaemin sat at a red light four days after. “Do you think I’m lovesick?” He said, twisting his mouth up. Jaemin didn’t even glance towards him, head looking out his window. “I think you’re too rational to fall in love after a month. I do think you’re a head over heels idiot, though.”





	thirty one days

**Author's Note:**

>   
>  i had a bad day at work so heres 4k of unbetaed word vomit i wrote in one and a half sittings to make myself feel better  
> im really into summer right now for someone that hates the heat

A boy probably made of metal moved in next door with his copper hair and bronze skin. Mark eyed him through the thin slits of his blinds, watching him and what was probably the stranger’s mother pull boxes and totes out of an archaic van. He shifted his weight as he watched the boy lean against the rusted metal and heave a sigh before wrapping his arms around another piece of cardboard and dragging himself back towards the house. They had a lot of stuff for what looked like a family of two.

He almost jumped out his skin when he felt a manicured hand land on his shoulder, acrylic nails tapping at thin red fabric. “Instead of being nosy from afar maybe you should offer to help, sweetie.” Despite her scolding words, his mother’s voice had a hint of encouragement. Mark got his penchant for wanting to know other people’s business from someone, though he was nowhere near as bad as her. The boy with platinum for a grin just interested him. Nothing happened in this town.

Though she hadn’t been all that serious, Mark found himself bracing his hands against the short chain link fence that separated the properties. He felt awkward and hot as the summer sun smacked against his shoulder blades through the thin fabric of a muscle tee, the dry heat making the air a little brittle and warm. He tapped pale fingers in an uneven rhythm against the polyethylene coated wire, only stopping when someone popped out the house. 

On closer inspection, he should of seen it coming. Precious metal was beautiful and the boy had it in droves, so of course he would be too. It wasn’t a feminine kind of beauty, the word felt wrong, but it was soft in a non-traditional way that made Mark tilt his head some the closer the boy came to him. The realization halted the other processes in Mark’s brain, leading him to stumble out a lame “Hi.” when he realized that the boy had just been looking at him expectantly for a while now. Those platinum teeth snuck out again, all the more brilliant now that it wasn’t masked by a window pane. “Hi.” A not exactly silky but close enough voice echoed back, and Mark couldn’t tell for the life of him if it was playful or mocking. Maybe it was both.

It was definitely both, Mark decided thirty minutes later as he was carefully balancing two boxes as he stepped over the threshold of a room overflowing with them. The boy was named Donghyuck and he had dragged him over his ‘lost puppy look’ three seconds after their introduction. Mark thinks he’s a little in love with him by the way he grinned while doing it. His friends often made fun of him, but Donghyuck seemed special for some reason that he couldn’t quite articulate. 

He lived with his aunt because his parents were always traveling for their work. Apparently she decided to move closer to the college he was going to attend in the fall to save money on hellish dorm costs. He was a year behind Mark and had a tongue that could cut diamond. The same aunt had cooed over him for a few moments, calling him a nice young man before a now familiar smile that leaked foreshadowing crossed her face. She didn’t wear it with the same charm as Donghyuck but Mark thought he might be a bit biased already. She dumped a heavy tote in his arms along with some vague instructions while Donghyuck’s laughed high and pitchy behind him. He tripped on his way inside the house.

 

Mark and Donghyuck bickered a tiny bit, well, a lot if they’re honest, as they tried to navigate his mattress up narrow stairs. It felt comfortable in a way that scared Mark but made him curl his toes at the same time. He threatened to drop his end and let the heavy object send Donghyuck careening down the steps but only got that laugh that made his heart jump in return. When they finally twisted the bed into its frame, Donghyuck let himself fall onto the soft material with an exhausted ‘oof’. Mark stood there awkwardly for a second before the other boy slapped at the vast emptiness besides him like an invitation.

If Donghyuck had an issue with the way Mark settled down just a few inches away instead of literally anywhere else on a queen sized mattress, he wasn’t voicing it. In place of it he got met with a lazy smile and tired eyes. He wondered if Donghyuck thought he was pretty too for just a second before he got a “You know, you kind of look like a seagull.” instead. He also thought the half-hearted kick to Donghyuck’s shin was worth the loud protest.

 

When Mark stumbled back into his house a little drunk on puppy love, his mother had incessantly asked questions about his visit. He was happy that she didn’t pry too much into how his eyes probably got starry talking about Donghyuck despite mentioning how he kind of wanted to fist fight him in a McDonald’s parking lot. She was content in muttering something about sending him over with sweets later, but they both knew she’d never get around to it. 

 

  


He didn’t see his new neighbor for nearly a week after that, though he was casting wistful glances outside his window more than he’d like to admit. Renjun called him whipped the moment he started talking about the boy on day six. Jeno did nothing to defend him and Jaemin only nodded along from where they were both crouched over some game they’d confiscated from under Mark’s bed. He’d say he’d never felt more betrayed but who knows. Maybe they were right.

The knock on his bedroom door an hour later that left all four of their heads snapping up revealed Donghyuck with eyebrows that raised an inch with each pair of eyes on him. “Your mom said to just come in.” He said like it explained what he was doing there to begin with, like it wasn’t kind of weird that he wanted to hang out with Mark. Maybe it wasn’t.

Jeno was the first to whisk his neighbor into the fold, talking a bit too loud but the eagerness only spurred Donghyuck on. His smile was sharp and beautiful, making Mark’s gut twist a little. It faltered at the edges when he made a jab at Jaemin who was stone faced, glancing towards Mark for something- maybe reassurance, maybe an apology, he couldn’t tell, before Jaemin laughed and the tension melted right back off him. Mark resisted the urge to wrap his hand in his own. 

  


The night ended with Donghyuck curled along the edge of his bed, sleeping with one of Mark’s blankets bunched up in his arms and leaving his feet sticking out. The trio teased Mark all the way to Renjun’s car, taking a leftover pizza box with them and leaving him with nothing but Donghyuck. The boy stirred a bit when Mark came back to his room, blinking lethargically at him. “I like your friends.” He said after a few seconds of an unintentional staring match, watching Mark clamber onto the messy bed. “They like you.” He responded, smacking at the light switch and avoiding the ‘I like you.’ that was on the tip of his tongue. Neither of them mentioned how Donghyuck could take the two minute walk back to his own bed instead of awkwardly burying himself in Mark’s.

If Donghyuck kicked a leg out to nudge his ankle between Mark’s a few minutes later, he wasn’t going to mention that either. 

 

  


The second time Mark wondered if Donghyuck might find him pretty too was on Donghyuck’s roof half past one in the morning five days later. His aunt was gone and Donghyuck had pounded on his window, saying something about how light pollution was so thin here, until Mark had come stumbling out in pajamas and slippers. They hadn’t said much, the silence that came with getting to know someone sitting on their chests. It wasn’t uncomfortable. It had never been uncomfortable, now that Mark thought about it.

But he wasn’t thinking about it, dark eyes trained on the black sky with a fat moon that illuminated white skin. He didn’t think about how his hair was stuck up on one side and how this shirt had holes in the collar and by the hem, just about how he could see Donghyuck looking at him from the corner of his own eye. “Yes?” Mark asked into the night, smiling when he saw Donghyuck snap his face back to the stars. “I didn’t say anything. Maybe you should get your hearing checked.” He got as a murmured response, trying to ignore how he felt his own ears and cheeks flush hot. 

 

  


Two weeks later Mark thought maybe some deity hated him when he fractured his arm by smacking it against a lamp post of all things. Then he thought some deity might have an odd way of justifying gifts, because Donghyuck stood at the foot of his bed with his arms crossed the next morning. Mark thought he was shining gold in the thin, long rectangles of sun that Mark’s blinds threw across his face. Donghyuck huffed out an insult, something about him being an idiot, even though he was settling on the edge of Mark’s bed and gently lifting the splinted arm.

It was kind of weird, it probably hurt somewhere in the back of Mark’s brain where prescribed opioids weren’t a factor, but he didn’t say anything. He let Donghyuck examine it in silence, watching him with big eyes and a face smoshed against the pillows.The surreal sort of quiet stretched on even as Donghyuck pulled his legs up and scooted further onto the mattress, resting Mark’s hand in his lap with his own surrounding it. Mark could vaguely register how Donghyuck’s thumb rubbed against his skin. 

The summer air was thick even in the early morning hours, making time feel stilted and like jello. He wasn’t sure how long the duo sat like that, Mark’s eyes occasionally dropping back down only to snap open again. It had earned a laugh from Donghyuck, lit and probably the opposite of angelic but always beautiful. “Go back to sleep.” He muttered, idly tapping his fingers against Mark’s wrist. Mark wanted to protest, say he’s not tired, that he wants to spend time with his friend, but his own body was so quick to betray him that all he could do was give a sleepy smile and nod. The last thing he could think of was how Donghyuck blushed rose gold when Mark edged a little closer, pressing his forehead to his knee before letting himself drift back to bed.

 

  


They were shoving themselves into Renjun’s car three days later, Mark being pushed into the back. His protests of ‘oldest gets the front seat’ laughed at as Jaemin took it for himself. Jeno peered out his window and nearly began squawking something about “Mark’s boyfriend is over there with some dudes.” with Mark totally not trying to climb over him to look too, possibly landing a chiding smack on Jeno’s arm in the process. He barely got a chance to see Donghyuck walking with a pair of boys just a bit younger than them before Renjun was quickly swinging the car around, slamming Mark into Jeno’s chest with a noticeable ‘oof’ and shaking Mark’s arm painfully. 

If Donghyuck seemed offended at Renjun obnoxiously honking at him with a wicked grin as the boy pulled the car up to the curb, he didn’t say anything. He just smiled instead, it splitting his face when his eyes drifted to Mark. A “Do you want a ride?” ended up with an additional three passengers in the already cramped car. Chenle was a boy with an obnoxious, ear piercing laugh that Jeno and Renjun decided they loved, Jeno practically shaking him by the shoulders from where he sat next to him. Jisung was shoved into the cramped space between Mark and Chenle, just skinny enough to fit without dying, and was more than happy to grin at Jaemin’s terrible jokes.

Donghyuck sat on Mark’s lap, back braced against the door and one leg thrown over his and Jisung’s and the other stretching out to the foot wells. “There’s not enough room, Lee.” He snarked to Mark as he had clambered over the other three, earning loud protests when Donghyuck purposefully shoved a knee against Jisung’s stomach before flipping himself into Mark in a weird display of car acrobatics. Mark glared at Renjun’s smirk through the rear view mirror as Donghyuck wrapped an arm around his neck, laughing when he tapped at Chenle with his toes.

A tan hand found Mark’s splinted arm again with ease, fingers rubbing unconsciously where the fabric wrapped around the webbing of his thumb and index finger. He was talking kind of loud, Donghyuck’s teasing remarks aimed at Jeno or whoever harsh against his ear drum, but Mark didn’t say anything. He let his free arm drape across Donghyuck’s thigh as Jaemin asked him about something, about whatever because Mark honestly couldn’t focus. His fingers curled a little along the soft flesh and denim fabric, tapping in rhythm to whatever song was playing as he responded automatically. 

The entire atmosphere in the tiny, cramped car was warmer than it should of been with the cool of the air conditioning. Heat radiated off of Donghyuck, enveloped from the sun from when he was walking and pressing into Mark like a gift, ignoring how it probably hit his face and ears too. He also ignored how Donghyuck leaned his head against Mark’s shoulder, propping it up as he laughed at something someone said, and the wicked grin that Chenle and Jeno both sent him in a terrifying moment of synchronization. Donghyuck also seemed skilled in the same ability, pretending to be oblivious to the two of them as he turned his eyes towards Mark and asked him about food tomorrow night under his breath. All Mark could do is nod and act like Donghyuck’s breath hot on his neck was normal.

  


When they finally stopped to drop the trio off, Chenle and Jisung both opted to clamber over Mark and elbow him with teasing smiles instead of just letting him get out first with protests of ‘I’m injured!’. Donghyuck leant down into Mark’s open door to smile and say something before Chenle’s “Don’t drool on him now, Donghyuck. You made it the entire car ride.” made him whip around with a curse and a mission that sent both boys running down the sidewalk.

Chenle’s cackling was kind of haunting, even as it was jittery when Donghyuck kicked at his shins. There was a small roar of laughter inside the car, sans Mark who could feel himself heat up red while Jisung just smiled at him from outside. “Thanks for the ride. We’ll see you later.” He said, tapping at the grey of Mark’s door before swinging it shut. He distantly wondered if all three of them would become a permanent addition to the small friend group, and Mark really wouldn’t mind if they were.

 

“You know, he’s just as obvious as you.” Renjun remarked at a lull in the conversation, glancing at Mark in the passenger seat. He was the last one to be dropped off, the sun long gone with a waning moon replacing it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Was the only response Mark could give him, happy for once that the light of the dashboard washed out the flush that must of hit him.

 

  


“I like your friends.” Mark blurted out from where he sat across from Donghyuck on the boy’s oversized bed. It was a day later and they were eating take out with a few grains of rice falling onto his blankets. Donghyuck seemed ethereal even as he shoved curry into his face, hair pushed back with a weird dollar store headband and a threadbare tank top that hung loose around his armpits. The statement made Donghyuck blink and furrow his brows for just a second before smiling. “They really like you too.” He assured him, stretching out a foot to prod Mark’s calf. 

It was a quiet moment, even with whatever livestreamer Donghyuck put on in the background filling in the gaps of conversation. Mark wasn’t sure if it was a gap though, with Donghyuck watching him with a certain gleam in his eyes that made Mark swallow a little harshly. The stare down was over as soon as it started though, Donghyuck dropping his eyes to his food with a small smile on his face. Mark almost let out a sigh if it weren’t for the “What am I going to do with you?” that Donghyuck muttered, mostly to himself before he ate another mouthful.

 

  


“Hey, how’d Mark break his arm?” Jisung asked a week later, sprawled out across Jeno’s floor. “It’s not broken, it’s fractured.” Mark corrected, not taking his eyes off the laptop he was mindlessly scrolling on. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been sucked into the Wikipedia hole, but there he was. “Dude that’s the same thing.” The boy countered, propping himself up on his elbows a little to look at Mark over the monitor. The older finally dragged his gaze up to looked at him, opening his mouth before Jaemin was already talking over both of them. “It’s the same thing.” He said smoothly, tapping at his phone with his feet thrown into Donghyuck’s lap before elaborating with a “Fractured is just the term actual professionals use.”.

Donghyuck just grinned at Mark from his place on the couch, kicking lightly at his shoulder. “Yeah Mark, don’t be stupid.” He teased before letting out a yelp when Mark wrapped his good hand around Donghyuck’s ankle and tugged. He came clattering down to the carpet with Jaemin quickly tucking his feet towards his chest to avoid being a part of the display. “You automatically lose the argument when you resort to violence.” He chided from the couch, unfolding himself again with little concern for Donghyuck’s limp form.

“That still doesn’t answer my question.” Jisung said, letting himself fall back flat against the floor as Donghyuck shot Mark a betrayed look. “He was texting Jeno and walked into a streetlight.” Jaemin answered for Mark as the older was busy slapping Donghyuck’s hands away from his computer. “That’s really lame.” Jisung said, looking towards an insulted Mark, who was honestly being attacked on all sides without being able to get a word in, but got Donghyuck’s “That’s because he is.” as a response. The two of them were now elbowing at each other in a silent war, Mark’s injured arm cradling his laptop. “You’re both lame.” Jeno muttered from his place on the love seat, curled up and trying to sleep like he had been for the past thirty minutes.

  


They eventually settled back into the comfortable silence that hung around before, Donghyuck finally getting his way despite Mark’s huffing and putting on some disconcerting video with them pressed together shoulder to thigh. Mark made a face as some music made an uncanny feeling sit in his stomach, but his friend just grinned his way through it with quiet laughs under his breath. He didn’t have the heart to tell him to turn it off, that the weird colors made his gut kinda churn, so instead he let his head fall against the boy’s shoulder and followed Jeno’s example. 

It’s kind of weird with how often Mark let himself sleep near the boy, but Donghyuck never seemed to complain. He felt familiar fingers brush at the nape of his neck and begin to comb through short hair. 

 

  


Mark frowned at his steering wheel while he and Jaemin sat at a red light four days after. “Do you think I’m lovesick?” He said, twisting his mouth up. Jaemin didn’t even glance towards him, head looking out his window. “I think you’re too rational to fall in love after a month. I do think you’re a head over heels idiot, though.” His tone was almost bored, but he did have a smile that was gentler than usual when he finally turned to face Mark. Mark just blinked at him until someone behind them honked.

 

  


Finding Donghyuck beautiful was never a surprise to Mark, it was one of the first things he thought about the boy after all and a thought he’d always had for the past however many days. It didn’t make it any less annoying when someone would approach him, though. Mark would always stick to his side awkwardly, pretending like he didn’t care until Donghyuck inevitably shot them down. He never really told Mark why he did, just shrugged it off. This particular time was inside an overcrowded ice cream shop, Mark getting a little glarey with how one person slid up on just this side of too close to his friend. Donghyuck laughed it off, loud and kind of nasal, walking it back.

He glanced at Mark before staring at him for just a second and leaning in close to his ear. “People would talk to you too if you looked less reserved.” Donghyuck muttered, Mark blinking before turning to protest, say something about how that wasn’t why he was annoyed, only to be way too close to Donghyuck’s face. The boy just grinned, all the more blinding in close proximity. 

“You’re very pretty, Mark Lee.” He said, letting the air sit with other people’s conversations flitting around them. It was like that time almost a week ago where Donghyuck had just sat on his bed and examined him. It was unnerving. When he realized he wasn’t going to get a response besides wide, blinking eyes, Donghyuck sighed and wrapped an arm around Mark’s neck and dragged him towards the counter. He was saying something about how Mark better know what he wants, but all Mark could really think about was the spot where Donghyuck’s fingers pressed into the hollow of his collarbone.

 

  


The next day they sat in the grey light of Donghyuck’s living room, the sound of distant thunder and the loud air conditioner the only noises. The two of them sat on opposite ends of the couch, not really interacting but enjoying each other’s company regardless. Mark wasn’t really sure what prompted him to speak, having tapped mindlessly at some phone game for who knows how long, but the lackluster “Hey.” came out regardless. Donghyuck looked up at him after a few seconds, head moving away from his phone before his eyes. Mark opened his mouth, closing and opening it again before a weird surge of confidence hit him. “Do you actually think I’m pretty?” He asked, even if it got a little weak at the end. 

Donghyuck blinked at him and Mark almost felt himself deflate when he moved to get up until he realized that the other was just abandoning his phone on the side table and edging closer. “Do I?” Donghyuck mocked as he sat on his calves, grinning at Mark was sure the red blooming on his ears. “Do you?” Mark tried again, hands twitching when Donghyuck grinned and moved close enough that tan knees and ripped jeans stabbed at his thigh.

“A lot about you is gorgeous. But you're pretty too, I guess.” Donghyuck almost murmured it, leaning what was probably a little too close for Mark’s health, close enough to watch him swallow. “You’re ethereal.” Mark gushed out, kind of loud but it didn’t really matter because Donghyuck was grinning and Mark could maybe grin a little nervously in response. “I’m ethereal.” The boy echoed again, making Mark remember that half the time he wanted to smother him and he probably would of tried if it weren’t for how Donghyuck pressed in close enough that a softly curved nose bumped against his own.

“Can Ethereal kiss you?” Donghyuck asked, hand coming up to settle on Mark’s shoulder and the other braced on his thigh. Mark couldn’t help but think that even in the desaturated light blocked out by thin curtains, Donghyuck looked like he was made of copper and gold. He nodded a little dumbly, sticking a finger in the hole at Donghyuck’s knee and injured arm hovering awkwardly. Mark went a little cross eyed trying to look at that grin, trying to commit it to memory, before Donghyuck pressed against him with soft lips and chaste intentions.

When he pulled away with a delicate smile and rosy cheeks, Mark couldn’t help but lick his lips and realize Donghyuck tasted like flat soda. It made his heart happy as Mark pressed forward this time and lingered there, kissing his neighbor slow and long on the grey summer day.

**Author's Note:**

> thank u love u
> 
> pay attention to me on twitter i don't post anything but i want friends  
> [@ymthut](https://twitter.com/ymthut)


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